Last Sunday, I had the pleasure of being part of ‘Artists In Action’ again.
My first appearance at this event, last year was so enjoyable I thought I would do it again this year.
Some 30 or so local Artist’s, some professional, some semi-professional, and some enthusiasts, all combined to showcase their art and craft at the Camden Civic Centre in Camden, some 60km (37m) south-west of Sydney, Australia.
It was such a fun event again. People of all ages came in to view our art and craft. There demonstrations and workshops, and people could enjoy having a go at creating art.
At my table, I had some my art on display and in between talking to people, I went about doing a couple of watercolour sketches, including my, ‘Watercolour Sketch a Day’ that has been going for over 5 years now.
As I did last year, I encouraged people who
‘had always wanted to try sketching and/or painting’ but hadn’t,
‘those that had been doing it but had stopped’, or
those who think that they don’t have time’ to go ahead and try it/take it up again, as it offers:
some great mental health benefits
it’s fun and relaxing
All-in-all a fun day! Looking forward to next year’s event.
Last night, my Wife, Susan and I decided to attend ‘Cultural Fusion’ which is an event put on by the local Council. It features Art and Craft stalls, Art for sale and local musicians.
Visitor numbers seemed a bit down however, this could have been caused by the fact it was the Thursday before the Long Weekend here in New South Wales. I’m sure visitor numbers will pick up closer to Christmas.
We found it delightful and had fun catching up with some of the Artists I know personally and it was great to make new connections.
It is on every month for the next five months and there is a chance for me to have a table or put some of my Art up for sale so I’ll certainly be investigating those. 🙂
Last night I delivered a presentation at Macarthur Photographic Society, where I was a member from 1986 – 2014.
As I have for the past few years focused my attention on Painting and Sketching, I was asked if I could deliver a presentation on the similarities and differences between Photography and Painting.
As a foundation for the discussion take was to take place in the second half of the presentation – (after intermission) on the similarities and differences, I spoke about my journey in Photography, and showed some images across Slides, (Film) Monochrome and D
I then explained, ‘why I changed from Photography to Painting’ a few years back, which involved several reasons. (I will post about this at a later date). Following the reasons, I showed examples of my Paintings, two Oil and one Watercolour Line & Wash.
After intermission, I moved onto the similarities, and then the differences between Photography & Painting which brought interesting discussion. Again, I will post about these in a separate post.
I finished the presentation talking about future projects in both Painting and Photography.
As I was compiling the presentation I learnt a lot! It is a fascinating subject and I’m sure I will modify it as time goes on.
One of the types of Photography I really enjoy, and do miss is Monochrome, aka Black & White. For many years, pre-digital, right back to 1983 when I started learning Darkroom skills.
I had an LPL 35mm Enlarger and later, I purchased a Durst 606 Medium Format Enlarger off one of my Uncles. The latter was for developing the negatives from my battery-less Yashica 635 Twin-Lens Reflex with which I used a hand-held meter.
Whilst I wasn’t as adept in the Darkroom as some of the other Camera Club/Photographic Society members over the years, I did enjoy going into the Darkroom, developing, printing and experimenting.
Fast forward to the Digital era and certainly it is easier and quicker to get the image and there are many more options for manipulation these days compared to the Darkroom.
In recent years my focus has been squarely on learning Sketching, Watercolour, Line & Wash and Oil Painting as I remember ‘always wanting to learn them’ when I was younger. Myself, like everyone else, is not getting any younger, having recently turned 60 and I have enjoyed, and will continue to enjoy these mediums. There is still so much more for me to learn and explore!
It shouldn’t be a surprise to people that I canned my Photoshop and Lightroom subscriptions a few years back. I still have a DSLR, however, I am looking to go in a different direction Photography-wise… A smaller, mid to high range compact and an iPad, which is a far cry from what I used to carry around. Much lighter too.
These days, I can see myself with a small backpack containing a compact camera, sketchbook, pencils, pigment liners, Watercolour field kit and sundry items.
I can see myself returning to Photography via Monochrome as (apart from when I used to take Slides), Monochrome was my favourite way of shooting images.
When I’m out and about this little kit complete with a small camera will allow me to elevate Photography once again in my life.
I’ve included a some images below of some of the things I used to like to shoot in Monochrome.
Way back in 1982, when I first started getting serious about photography, I noticed how I instantly developed a greater curiosity about our world. I started to explore detail in subjects that I had not even noticed prior to becoming interested in communicating via this medium.
Detail is one thing however, we also need to look up (I would say more than) occasionally as how much do we miss in our daily travels as we get busy with life? This brings me to the subject of this short article.
I love shooting up!
The next time you are out and about, take a minute away from your busy schedule and look up. There is a whole new world just waiting for you feast your eyes upon it.
A local Festival not far from us that has been going every year since 2016, (except for the Covid-19 years in 2020 and 2021) is the Illuminate Festival.
It is held in Picton, New South Wales, Australia which is located 90 kilometres/56 miles South West of Sydney. Picton is about 10 – 15 minutes drive from where we live.
You may have heard of or seen the Sydney Vivid Festival, where works of Art are projected onto buildings and other structures at night.
Picton is a much smaller version of that, and it also has Art and Craft market stalls, food stalls and all manner of other stalls plus live bands and the Annual Wollondilly Art Exhibition. It is held late May and Susan and I attended it recently.
The Art Exhibition and the projected lights are the biggest drawcard for me however, on the day/night a live local Blues group called, ‘Monkey’s Uncle’ was a definite delight!
My Wife, Susan and I yesterday visited Red Point Artists Association at Point Kembla, NSW, Australia. They were holding their monthly, Art On The Grass event.
Although I had been visiting their sporadically over the past 10 years, I only became a member of this wonderful organisation in July last year. I hadn’t joined previously as I had many things (as we all do on occasions) competing for my time.
Red Point was formed in May 2008 and it’s home is a small precinct of (what were once) retail shops set in a ‘rectangular horseshoe formation’ with a rectangular grassy area in the middle with a few established trees which provides an ideal location for their ‘Art On The Grass’ event.
Within this precinct is a Takeaway Food shop on one corner, a number of Artist studios (some shared), a main Gallery plus a smaller Gallery and a Workshop that is used for demonstrations.
Art On The Grass features Art and Craft that is for sale and the tables are manned by the Artists Craft-makers themselves and there are a wide variety of things to look at and buy.
There are always Exhibitions on from Red Point members in both galleries. The whole atmosphere is relaxing and is often complemented by live music in the form of an Acoustic Guitarist or similar.
From the moment I first visited Red Point Artists, I could feel that there was something ‘special’ about the place, the Art and the people in it. I feel a ‘sense of connection’ down there and never fail to be inspired by something or a Artist when I visit.
I’ve written on my blog previously about visits to Art On The Grass and whilst I was down there this time, I had an idea for a section on my blog that highlighted individual Artists and Craft- makers that I come across in my travels. This would also from time-to-time include Art and Craft associations as well. For more information about Red Point Artists Association, please click on the following link: https://redpointart.org.au/
Why would I do this?
I love Art and Craft and find it very interesting to see what other Artists and Craft-makers imaginations can create. I will always ask their permission to firstly, photograph them at their tables or any of their table setups before posting on this blog. I would like to help them promote their Art and Craft. I receive no monetary benefit for doing this. The benefit I receive is the enjoyment in being able to promote what other people’s imaginations have created. Hopefully, it will help them too.
I will be including their contact details and/or website so that if you like what they do or want to find out more information about what they do, you can contact them directly.
My next article in ‘Creativity Spotlight’ will be about Helen from ‘Wall Art & Resin Homewares’, whose Artistic endeavour is ‘Acrylic Pouring.’ Helen is a member of Red Point Artists Association.
Camera Clubs/Photographic Societies were such a huge and integral part of my journey in Photography and those experiences cannot be summed up in just one post as there were several facets that I would like to cover.
When I walked into a Camera Club for the very first time, I was an extremely shy 23 year old (I can hear Perc Carter laughing now…). I’ll never forget my early visits to Campbelltown Camera Club in 1986. I joined in June of that year.
Logo from a T-Shirt members proudly wore around advertising our Club. I still have the T-Shirt, though I doubt it would fit me these days!
Apart from ‘not being comfortable in a roomful of strangers’, as the prints started to go up on the print stands, I felt both inspired and inadequate at the same time.
I had been shooting for about 3 1/2 years and was starting to feel a bit more happy with what and how I was shooting. I knew there was room for improvement though. There always is…much more improvement when I saw what was in front of me!
The images in front of me were awe-striking. I had no knowledge at that time of how long some of my fellow members had been involved in photography. I had arrived as a member just in time for the ‘Top Shot’ Competition. I had never even considered going into a competition with my photography. Photography was just for fun.
Charlie Cowell won the overall Top Shot that year with a Still-Life image that had a background where ‘light just disappeared’ into the background.
I had been trying to shoot various Still-Life scenes but my backgrounds were awful. I sat there wondering how he did it and commented so to another member. The member said, ‘why don’t you ask him?’
Summing up the courage, I did. ‘Black Velvet’, Charlie said & proceeded to tell me what to buy and where to buy etc. I still have that piece of Velvet 35 years later…
I started to enter the competitions about a month later. Club competition entries, if successful, were awarded a Merit or Credit by the visiting Judge who evaluated the images on display and suggested points for improvement.
Myself being presented with a Bronze Medallion for 25 Merits in Monochrome c1990’s by then President, Enid Duncan.. I went on to achieve 75+ Merits in Monochrome; and 205 Merits in Slides which was/is a Club record for that medium. Wish I still had the hair!
I learnt so much going along to Campbelltown Camera Club in many ways, the competitions being just one of them.
It certainly helped build up my ‘photographic confidence’ over time and also, being exposed to a new group of people helped start me on the road to ‘general self-confidence’ too.
Over the next few articles, as I continue write about my Photographic journey, I will explore other facets of my wonderful experience of being a member of a Camera Club/Photographic Society.
A few years back, Campbelltown Camera Club changed it’s name to Macarthur Photographic Society. To find out more about MPS and how being a member can improve your Photography, click on the following link. https://macarthurphotographicsociety.org.au/
Communicating Creatively 